Creel



July 3, 1962 Filed Dec. 50, 1958 R. K. BUTLER CREEL 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 3, 1962 R. K. BUTLER 3,042,340

CREEL Filed Dec. 30, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 I L//I lll/l l lll/1 /1/1//11 l/ l//l/llll/lll//l//l///////////////l L I I I I IllllllllllllllIIIIIIIIIIIHIIIIH Illllllllli limited States Patent Orifice 3,642,340

Patented July 3, 1962 3,042,340 CREEL Richard K. Butler, Whitman, Mass., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Machinecraft, Inc., Whitman, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Filed Dec. 30, 1958, Ser. No. 783,902 15 Claims. (Cl. 242-131) This invention relates to spinning and roving frames, and forms one part of a reorganization aimed to change over and improve existing frames so as to make Such machines simpler and easier to adjust, to run, to keep clean, and to keep supplied with the stock they are to work on, as well as making them capable of doing better Work; further, to simplify the construction and thus reduce the cost of building new spinning and roving frames.

The aims of the present invention include the provision of creel structures which can `be made low, and confined to a single tier, and will be light, compact, and inexpensive, with reduced lint-collecting surfaces and those easily cleaned by traveling overhead cleaners as well as by hand, in which all supply bobbin supports will be easily accessible and the supply lbobbins can be donned and doted with a minimum of physical eiort and loss of time, and which are fully adjustableto different makes and types of frames, for simplified installation and maintenance.

Further objects of the invention are to provide a novel and improved bobbin support permitting smooth and steady rotation 4ot the bobbins, 'but having capacity for creating any desired amount of drag or resistance to rotation suilicient to prevent the bobbins from overrunning due to vibration or the action of the air jets from the traveling cleaners; also, to provide for supporting bobbins of different bore diameters upon the same rotatable bobbin holders; to provide bobbin supports which stay in place in the cree] while the bobbins are being doffed and donned, thus leaving both the operators hands free to handle the bobbins; and to avoid the necessity of lubricating the bobbin holders.

lt is also among the objects of this invention to provide for easy shifting of the locationV and spacing of the roving bobbins lengthwise of the frame to any desired extent and Without limit except such as imposed Iby the diameter of the roving bobbins, so lthat either single or double roving may be run.

An additional object of the invention is to provide means for holding spare roving bobbins at frequent intervals in the length of the frame at a height easily reached by even the most diminutive operators, and in such manner that the spare bobbins can be put up on the creel and taken down again for use in replacing empty bobbins by a direct motion and without any tricky manipulation thereof, while creating by the supporting means the least possible areas to collect and shed lint onto the yarns below.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive creel which may be used in existing machines to replace the bulky lint-catching types of Wooden creels using skewers and cups, in modernizing older machines and cutting down the -cost of operation, as by permitting the use of larger roving packages, and speeding the creeling operation.

A relatively high degree of skill is required of the operators of existing roving and spinning frames, which is acquired only through prolonged training and practice. Textile mills consequently have to make a large investment in the training of operators to accomplish the complicated tasks assigned to them in the running of existing types of these machines.

As an example, the average spinning frame has around 240 spindles disposed along -both sides of tbe frame, or

120 to each side, each with its appurtenant drawing rolls, and each fed with either one or two strands of roving supplied from individual bobbins, the latter being arranged in the creel in two or more tiers between and above the lines of drafting rolls extending along both sides of the machine. It is often the practice to have four rows of such roving lbobbins in each tier, of which two rows serve the rolls and spindles of a single side, the bobbins of one row being behind the other in staggered relation at each level. The replacement of the exhausted bobbins and the piecing-up of the new supplies to the running roving are the main parts of the work of the attendant who runs the machine. This replenishment must be eitected as the several bobbins run out at random intervals, and not all at once, and while the frame continues to run.

The roving bobbins are commonly mounted on skewers in order to rotate and unwind, so that in the creeling operation the operator must handle simultaneously the exhausted roving bobbin, the skewer supporting it, and the full replacement roving bobbin, and if this service is performed on one of the back or inner rows of the roving supply, she must simultaneously move aside any interfering roving bobbins in the front row and of course piece the new roving onto the tail end of the exhausted supply, all without breaking any of the extremely fragile adjacent roving ends and without losing the running end being pieced up. The operation requires a long reach by the attendant, which is particularly long and hard for a girl, since the attendant must stand clear of the yarns or flyers whirling about the bobbins which are being wound.

To cut down somewhat the frequency of this operation, the present trend is to increase the wound size of the roving supply bobbins from 4 inches to as much as 7 inches in diameter, in certain cases. The resulting crowding of the creel with these larger `bobbins renders the job even harder, especially at the lower level where the bobbins stand in almost contiguous relation. The usual location of the drafting rolls and their stands and appurtenances above and extending back of the roller beams at both sides of the frame cuts down the creel space available between `for the bob-bins, and thus limits the size of the bobbins which can ybe used.

To make more room for the supply bobbins, this reorganization provides for shifting the drawing rolls outwardly to where they no longer overhang the roller beam or the areas behind, as fully set forth in co-pending application of L. M. Cotchett, Serial No. 803,000 led March 30, 1959. The increased space not only makes it possible to use larger bobbins, 4but also to eliminate the upper tier entirely if desired, which `both simplifies the creeling in general and permits replenishment without removing the working bobbins in the front row in replacing those behind, thus reducing the work in volved in keeping up the roving supply.

Other objects of the invention, and the manner of their attainment, are as made plain hereinafter.

An illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. l is an end View showing partly in vertical transverse section the drawing rolls and certain of the parts of the framing of a spinning frame, together with the novel creel structure with bobbins thereon.

FIG. 2 is a plan View of one end of the spinning frame equipped with the improved creel.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged View in vertical section of one of the bobbin-supporting members mounted on a creel rail, with a bobbin in place thereon and shown in sec tion to show the manner of its support.

FIGS; 4 and 5 are plan and end elevational views,

respectively, of the means joining the vertical columns and the transverse arms Which support the creel rails.

FIG. 6 is a section on line 6 6, FIG. 1, showing the means for mounting the inner longitudinal creel rails on the transverse arms.

FIG. 7 is a detail which shows the manner of mounting the outer longitudinal creel rails on the ends of the transverse arms.

The drawings illustrate in FIGS. 1 and 2 the application of the improved creel to a spinning frame made according to the Cotchett application aforesaid. Thus, in place of the usual wooden uprights or end boards or the later metal structures, the creel members are supported by columns in `the form of tubular uprights 1, FIGS. 1 and 2, preferably of aluminum and mounted at each end of the spinning frame and at intermediate points also, on cross-members or girts 3, present or added to the frame by bolting to the two roller beams at 7. Herein the uprights 1 are provided with studs 9 press-iitted into their lower ends, with the reduced ends of the studs press-tted or riveted in holes formed in the cross-members 3.

On each upright 1 is clamped a tubular aluminum crossarm 11, FIGS. 1, 4 and 5, which supports the longitudinally extending creel rails 13 on which the spindles 15, FIG. 3, and bobbin supports 17 which hold the roving bobbins are mounted. Each cross-arm 11 is lixed to its upright 1 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 by means of a yoke 19 of V-shape which clamps the cross-arm 11 against the upright 1 by means of bolts 21 and spacers 23. Being thus fully adjustable up and down the uprights 1, the cross-arms and thus the creel rails 13 can be located at whatever elevation is needed to have the roving-guiding back bar 27, FIG. l, yof the drawing roll `assembly stand opposite the mid-length of the wound mass 25 on the bobbin, so that the roving will unwind evenly from both ends thereof.

The creel rails 13 which extend throughout the length of the spinning frame are of rectangular tubular section, being made of aluminum and in lengths reaching from one cross-arm 11 to the next. These lengths forming the outer creel rails, those nearer the roll stands 33, have their -adjacent ends meeting at the axis of the respective cross-arms 11, FIG. 7, where they are attached by cap screws 29 put through their ends into plugs 31 presstted in the ends of cross-arms 11. The extreme ends of the 4ultimate lengths of rails l13 are similarly secured to cross-arms 11.

The two inner creel rails 13 are mounted on the crossarms 11 by means of collars 35, FIG. 6, which tit around the tubular cross-arms 11 and are adjustably xed thereon by means of set screws 37. The adjacent ends of each two lengths of these rails are respectively bolted to the wings 39 of collars 35 by cap screws 41. Thus these inner rails 13 can be adjusted widthwise of the frame toward and from the outer rails to attain the desired clearance between the full bobbins. Each bobbin is mounted on a spool-shaped bobbin support 17, FIGS. 1 and 3, which rotates freely on a short spindle 15 of hardened steel, cadmium plated, the lower end of which extends through holes in the lugs 45 of a yoke 47 iitted closely around creel rail or spindle rail 13. A snap ring 49 seated in a groove cut for it in spindle 15 engages the top surface of the upper lug 45, while -a cap screw 51 threaded into a tapped bore in the end of spindle 15 bears against the under surface of bottom lug 45, the snap ring being so spaced from the end of the spindle that the yoke is clamped tightly around rail 13 before the cap screw head seats on the end of the spindle. Each yoke with its spindle and bobbin support is freely slidable along its rail 13 when the clamping yoke is loosened. Thus the location of each spindle and its bobbin holder along the creel rails is made easily adjustable.

Bobbin supports 17 each comprise a cylindrical body in the form of a steel sleeve 53 tting over spindle 15 with ample clearance, the reduced upper end of its bore being threaded at 55 and occupied by a hardened steel set screw 57 having its lower end provided with a conical recess which receives the conical upper end 59 on the spindle Y15. The bearing thus rotatably supporting the bobbin support needs no lubricant.

Body 53 is formed with a groove 61 near its top end and surrounding the threaded portion 55, for the reception of a nylon bobbin-centering ring or grommet 63 which is split longitudinally and forced over the end of body 53 and seated in the groove in operatively fixed relation.

This nylon grommet has a flange 65 of a diameter to t closely but slidably within the bore 67 of the particular size of bobbin 69 being used in the creel, and these grommets are designed to be replaced with others of the required overall diameter to suit bobbins of different bore diameters, as circumstances m-ay require.

To prevent wabbling of the bobbin-holder 17 on spindle 15, a bronze or steel bushing 71 is press-tted into the bottom end of body 53 and is formed with an internal diameter closely but slidably fitting the adjacent portion of spindle 15, to form a guide sleeve for this end of the bobbin support.r

The bobbin 69 is supported at the bottom of its bore 67 by a nylon skirt 73 of truncated conical shape attached to the steel body 53 by a lip 75 received in a groove formed therefor on the outside of the bottom end of body 53, the nylon skirt being applied by forcing it over the end of'body 53 until lip 75 snaps into the groove.

Thus constructed, each bobbin is supported for rotation with extreme ease and freedom `from friction, by reason of the point support of the parts on the apex of the cone 59 Iwithin the cavity of hardened set screw 57. Hence like lthe skewers and other types of bobbin supports, it is subject to over-running and unwanted rotation caused by vibrations and also by the action of the air blasts from the overhead traveling lint clearers conventionally used on spinning frames, such rotation acting to unwind and slacken the roving between the bobbins and the drawing rolls with resultant risk of tangling and breaking.

To prevent this, a felt Washer 77 is disposed concentrically about spindle 15 within the nylon skirt 73, being sandwiched between two steel washers 79 held tightly between swaged flanges of an aluminum bushing 81 presstted on the spindle. The felt serves as a frictional brake, accurately and easily adjusted by turning the screw 57 to lower or raise the support 17 and bobbin 4and thus increase or diminish the resistance to rotation of the support and bobbin eiected by the drag of the felt against the inside of the skirt 73. Hence the exact degree of hold-back on the bobbins needed to prevent sagging roving ends is attainable, and without putting excessive tension on the ends, and capable of being made uniform throughout the entire creel.

The bobbin supports are immune from fouling by lint, because the point bearing at 59 is completely shielded from -access of lint from above by the screw 57 which closes the top end of the bore of body 53, and both this bearing and the guide sleeve 71 are shielded from below by the felt brake washer 77 which wipes against the skirt 73 and also acts as `a lint seal. The downward lflare of the skirts interior surface is a third obstacle to the entry of lint, because of its tendency toshed downwardly `any entering lint.

The nylon skirt 73 supports bobbins with all sizes of bores or counterbores, centering their butts accurately because of its conicalV shape. Thus when bobbins with different bore diameters are to be used, only the grommets 63 are changed, to suit the new lot. If loosened turns of roving from a bobbin drop down and are drawn tight around the skirtY 73 below the bobbin butt, they usually unwind from the skirt without causing trouble. If they do not unwind, they cannot coil about any part of the bobbin support tightly enough to cause delay and annoyance in their removal because on lifting the bobbin the coils can be slid upward on the conical skirt with attendant loosening of the coils, which lwill always have a greater diameter than the body 53.

To make sure the bobbin supports stay in place on their spindles during dong of the empty bobbins, a set screw S3 is threaded radially through the wall of body 53 so that i-ts reduced inward end stands within a wide groove 85 made in spindle 15. The operator thus has no parts of the bobbin-supporting means to handle or hold during creeling.

To hold the spare full roving bobbin -at frequent intervals in the length of the frame where they will be easily reached by the operator, a rail A87, FIGS. 1 and 2, of right-angle section running the full length of the spinning `frame is mounted with its convex side upward on the several uprights 1, by drilling it to admit the uprights therethrough and welding a rectangular piece 89 of metal within the angle adjacent the holes in the rail, these portions 89 forming lugs which are drilled to admit bolts 91 put through the uprights 11 at the level desired for the spare bobbin rail 87. Cylindrical bosses 101 of a diameter less than the bores of the bobbins are welded to the upper surfaces of the angle section rail at frequent intervals and in staggered relation, so that they extend upward and outward from the center line of the frame at 45 angles -to the vertical. The spare bobbins are placed butt first on the bosses 101, which enter the bores for only a small fraction of the length of the bores, and the spare bobbins extend upward and outward from rail 87 over the working bobbins occupying ,the supports 17. Because the spare bobbins are held at a 45 angle, and the supports 17 extend less than one-.third of the way up into the bore of the working bobbins, the latter can be removed and replaced without obstruction by the spare bobbins, and yet the spares can be mounted in a location that is low and easily accessible.

Because of the large diameter and close-set relation of the bobbins made possible by the improved creel and the location of the drawing rolls, guides 103, FIGS. 1 and 2, are provided between each pair of bobbin supports 17 of the two outer rows, to guide the Iroving from the two inner rows of bobbins to their respective trumpets 105 without contact with the wound masses 25 of roving on the outer bobbins. These guides 103 are steel rods extending nearly to the upper shoulders of the windings 25, having their lower ends 107, FIG. 1, reduced and shouldered and put through the lugs of yokes 109 on rails 13 similar to the yokes 47 which hold the spindles 15 on the creel rails 13. Like the spindles, these guides 3 are mounted on the creel rails 13 with full capacity for adjustment therealong, as may be needed.

If a two-tier creel of the Birkenhead or of the umbrella type is desired, the same assembly of cross-arms I11, creel rails 13, spindles 15, rotary supports 17, and yarn guides 103 is duplicated at a suitable elevation above the bobbins shown in FIG. l, uprights @1 being of course lengthened accordingly, and the upper tier affixed thereto by plates 19 as before described. The same type of spare bobbin support as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is used above the upper tier.

It will be noted that the only surfaces afforded by the entire creel for the accumulation of lint are the long narrow sloping faces of the spare bobbin rail 87, the cross-arms 11, and the creel rails 13 of oblong section disposed narrow side upward, and that only the narrow tops of the latter rails present hat surfaces on which the lint can settle. The usual wide flat creel boards extending from one roller beam to the other throughout the conventional spinning frame have been completely eliminated and replaced by mere girts 3 which tie together the roller beams 5 at widely spaced intervals. The wooden shelf for the spare bobbins has also been dis- 6 pensed with. With the creel thus cut down to skeleton structure, the blast of the overhead traveling cleaner is able to make a clean sweep of all creel parts at each passage, thus effecting a great reduction in slub troubles and in hand-cleaning of the frame.

While I have illustrated and described a certain for-m in which the invention may be embodied, I am aware that many modications may be made therein by any person skilled in the artt, without departing from the scope of the invention as expressed in the claims. Therefore, I do not wish to be limited to the particular form shown, or to the details of construction thereof, but

What I do claim is:

1. In spinning and roving frames having roller beams and drawing rolls on the latter, a creel having in cornbination rotatable bobbin supports, xed ver-tical spindles on which the bobbin supports rotate, horizontal creel rails on which the spindles are mounted, cross-arms holding the creel rails in horizontally spaced and parallel relation to each other, and uprights holding the creel rails elevated above -the level of the roller beams, each crossarm supporting a plurality of creel rails between the uprigh'ts and 4the drawing rolls at each side of the frame.

2. The combination according to claim l in which the creel rails, the cross-arms holding them, and the uprights are of tubular construction.

3. In spinning and roving frames having roller beams and girts joining the latter, a creel having in combination uprights on the girts, horizontal arms fixed on the uprights and extending transversely of the roller beams, means fixing the arms on the uprights with capacity for vertical adjustment, horizontal rails supported by ythe arms and extending parallel to the roller beams, spindles, means fixing tlhe spindles in vertical relation on the r-ails with capacity for adjustment along the rails, and bobbin supports rotatably mounted on the spindles.

4. The combination according to claim 3 in which means are provided for mounting certain of the rails on the arms with capacity for variation of their horizontally spaced relation to other rails.

5. In spinning and roving frames having roller beams, drawing rolls, and girts, a creel having in combination uprights mounted on the girts, cross arms clamped to the sides of the uprights, rails extending lengthwise of the frame and fixed on the ends and intermediate the length of the cross arms at right angles to the latter, bobbin supports, spindles on which the bobbin supports are rotatably mounted, and means clamping the spindles to the sides of the rails in vertical relation and slidable along the rails when loosened.

6. The combination according to claim l in which a spare-bobbin rail is mounted on the uprights above the spindle rails, and non-rotatable means are provided on the spare-bobbin rail adapted to engage with the interior of the bores of the spare bobbins.

7. The combination according to claim 6 in which the spare-bobbin rail is of angle section, with convex side upward, and the means adapted to engage within the bobbins are xed on both of the oblique upper surfaces of the spare-bobbin rail and extend at right angles to such surfaces.

8. A bobbin support for spinning and roving frames having in combination a spindle to be xed in the frame, a body having an axial bore to receive the spindle, concave bobbin-centering and supporting means on the body, an axially adjustable member within the ybore engaged by the spindle and rotatably suppor-ting the body, and friction -means in connection with the spindle brought into engagement with the concave means on the body upon axial adjust-ment of the -rnember within the bore of the body.

9. A bobbin suppor-t for spinning and roving frames having in combination a spindle, a bobbin-supporting element rotatably mounted on such spindle, :a plastic Harige removably positioned on the upper end of such element having a diameter less than the bobbin bore, a conical ange fixed on the lower end of such element and of less diameter than the bobbin bore at its upper end and of greater diameter than such bore at its lower end, and a friction-creating member fixed on the spindle and engaging the interior surface of the conical flange.

10. The combination according to claim 9 in which means are provided for adjusting the relative elevation of the bobbin-supporting element and the friction-creating member, to vary the amount of friction created by their mutual engagement.

11. A rotary bobbin support for spinning and roving frames having in combination a spindle to be fixed vertically in the frame, a bobbin-supporting body having an axial bore to receive the spindle, a friction-creating surface in operatively fixed relation to the spindle, and a screw fitting the bore and supporting the body rotatably on the spindle and adjustable axially of the bore for varying the elevation of the body on the spindle to vary the frictional engagement between such surface and the body.

12. A bobbin support for spinning and roving frames having in combination a spindle fixed at its lower end on the frame, and having a pointed upper end, a spoolshaped element having an axial passage receiving the spindle and a conical lower ange fixed thereon on which the bobbin butt is to be seated and centered thereby and an upper flange entering the bobbin bore and centering an upper portion of the bobbin, and a screw with concave lower end fixed in the axial passage and resting on the pointed spindle end and supporting the element rotatably.

13. A bobbin support `for spinning and roving frames having in combination a spindle, a bobbin-supporting element rotatably mounted on such spindle, a brake of frictional material in fixed position on the spindle and engaging with the said element continuously throughout its rotation, and means to elect axial movement of the element toward and from the 4brake to govern the amount of pressure and resulting braking action of the brake in resisting but yet permitting rotation of the element.

14. A bobbin support according to claim 13 in which the bobbin-supporting element has a surface obliquely disposed to its axis of rotation and engageable with the friction surface.

15. A bobbin support for spinning and roving frames having in combination a spindle xed at its lower end `on the frame and having a conical upper end, a sleeve fitting over the spindle with clearance therefrom, a screw threaded axially into the `bore of the sleeve and having a concave end receiving the conical upper end of the spindle, a split ring removably mounted in a groove at the upper end of the sleeve, a flange of externally and internally conical shape mounted in a groove at the lower end of the sleeve, a brake of frictional material fixed on the spindle in engagement with the internal surface of the flange, and means preventing removal of the sleeve from the spindle.

References Cited in the file of this patent 

